Predator tank idea's , pros and cons

Hello everyone .

am new in this hoppy , although i was reading about it for some time now 8) as i want to learn the basics .
am a scuba diver and underwater photgrapher since almost 10 years now and i was always and still crazy about underwater predators " once i was with in a team having studies on stone fish venom , we milk the venom out of that beast " loool it was very cool though.

My tank is 130G , almost 2 weeks now for cycling and am still thinking about what stuff i will have there !!

there is no much people seems having the same interest of having predator tank which lead me to ask about the pros and cons of this type of tank !! i know fish compatibility is hard as well as care is kind of tough

So my question here would you recommend it or not and why ?? and if you have a suggestions idea's and experiance please share it here

hopefully am not the only crazy person who would like to keep a killer in my tank !!

 

Welcome to 3reef, you should receive some interesting response soon on this.

 

I will tag along...I have also thought of this "predator" tank... : )

 

No you are not alone there are other predator fans here including me and LG apparently (Go figure he's a nut like me). The biggest issue with predator tanks is their feeding habits. While uneaten food leftover in your tank will be non existent because they consume the food whole it does pose a little bit of a risk to your biological filtration as the Bacteria has a harder time keeping up because of the sudden release of ammonia cuased by these feeding habits. It is best to feed the fish in your system on different days as this will help keep them from expelling waste alll at the same time.Most predators only need to feed every few days. As you have realised picking your predators is very important as well as not overloading the tank.As long as you keep up with your nutrient export these can be very successful and rewarding systems IMO. Here is a good link for you to help figure out exactly what you like. It also has good basic info on tank size requirements,feeding,and general info about some of the more popular fish.There is also an area called Divers den which is WYSIWYG and always a great place to drool.
Good luck and welcome to 3reef!!8)

Saltwater Fish: Marine Aquarium Fish for Saltwater Aquariums

 

yup....its a crazy thought...but I would love the challenge..I have heard, best luck without coral...that adds another issue as for the things Vinny mentioned...without coral would be much easier..imo

 

Your gonna need some monster filtration. Especially since a predator tank isn't very hospitable to a cleanup crew. Other than that I would say its way easier than a reef. No heavy lighting, more room for error, and no tank additives really just the occasional feeding maybe some medication .

 

That makes sense....RIP CUC !! LOL 8)

 

Hey I'm in the same boat with tempting fate with the idea of a predator tank. Though the wifey declares no poisonous fish so there goes the lion fish but ah well There's plenty of predators in the sea! From what I've read and studied from some friends tanks, the filtration is hugely the key. Since as posted before the CuC wont survive most pred tanks and sticking your hand in can cause a bit O nipping it's safe to say you'll need to find a nice balance.

Due to the spiking ammonia from the waste release of such fish I've heard of people not only adding a wet dry but a fuge and within the fuge they put some shrimp bits or other fish to help compensate for the biological impact.

 

Thanks alot

 

Wow that was a great help man , i hate that am so far away from this (live aquaria) products , varity and pricing !! here it's totally different story but for some reason predatros are the cheapest fish " i guess there is no much crazy fans for them"
So we agreed that one of the good deals for predators tank than normal is the remaining food will be zero , but in the other hand the expelling waste !! which will be a nightmare if you don't have the right filtaration system , one of the bad points also i beleive the corals compatibility if we can say that !! this going to be another issue also if you would like to change anything inside the tank it going to be tough as some serious killers would be there like stone and scorpion fish !!
but i beleive it worth try as the issues and problems in future can be less than other issues with normal fish tank , as predators are less exposed to sickness and they can handle some diseases.

Moving from this point to another , predator compatibility !! what if i brought small predators and bigger size fish ??!! tangs , gopeis , cloun !! dose that means the predators will become larger than others and they going to become a good lunch ?? i have been reading about some people who succes on doing that !!

ok this going to be long one i guess so i will stop here :-[